Progressive European Party
28 February 2019
What is Progressive politics?
Progressive European Party
I am asked on occasions what is the definition of Progressive politics. It is a good question and deserves some clarification. The word progressive in a political sense is easy to define. “improvement of society by reform. As a philosophy, it is based on the idea of progress, which asserts that advancements in science, technology, economic development and social organisation are vital to the improvement of the human condition.” To quote Wikipedia.
The labour party in its origins of campaigning for the political representation of workers was very progressive in its day. Similarly, the movement for women to have the same voting rights as men were of equal importance. In today's political system the only party with an MP that could be called progressive are the Greens.
The Lib Dems on the other hand just offer improvements to the political system that we have now. Just sticking plasters on a system that is now outmoded.
The Labour party is sometimes called a Progressive party when really they are offering a socialism which is a throwback to the politics of the past. Important in its day but no longer Progressive in its outlook.
Our party advocates amongst other things the introduction of a Direct Democracy. Direct Democracy is not a progressive idea if you live in Switzerland or Liechtenstein but it is here. It can be said that proportional representation, which I believe is supported by the Lib Dems and the Greens is a progressive policy, it is, but really it is just another way of electing MPs to the same system that we currently have without any real change.
To be really Progressive our system of democracy needs to be transformed. What we currently have has had its inadequacies exposed since the referendum result that shows how inadequate it is for the modern world.
So I would say that Progressive politics from the point of view of pEp would be the transformation of society and our political system to be something fit for purpose in the twenty-first century.
Philip Notley11 November 2018
#FBPE
Progressive European Party
We have dropped the #FBPE from our FB group and Twitter. We think they have served their purpose and we now need to get down to more serious things. The Progressive party is not only about stopping #Brexit. We need to change the broken system that caused Brexit in the first place
14 October 2018
Brexit, who should have the final say?
Progressive European Party
There would never be a second vote in any case just because remain voters did not like the first result. What the so-called second referendum, if it happens, should be is not a second referendum at all but a new referendum on how we should now proceed.
For it to work it would have to be multi-option,
Stay in the EU
Leave the EU but stay in the customs union and single market
Leave the EU but stay only in the single market
Leave the EU but stay only in the customs union
Leave the EU without a deal
Leave the EU with the deal that has been agreed with the EU (when there is one)
Leave the EU but reject the deal and negotiate a new one
Complex yes and highly unlikely to happen that way. So should we be campaigning for a new referendum at all or should we only be campaigning to stay in the EU?
The position of the Progressive Party is simple, one of the cornerstones of Progressive policy is to replace Parliamentary sovereignty with a Direct democracy. Therefore we are supporting the call for a new referendum because that is as close to Direct democracy we can currently get until there is a Progressive administration in power.
Philip Notley
26 May 2018
Progressive policies explained: Citizens Income
Progressive European PartyCitizens Income or CI (sometimes also called a Universal Basic Income or UBI), has been one of the cornerstones of Progressive policy since the late 1990s. The main question that always arises in connection with CI is: How can it possibly be financed?
The introduction of CI would, in fact, generate major savings. In the first place, it would render nearly all other benefit payments obsolete and unnecessary.
Housing benefit alone, for instance, cost the UK £24 billion in 2014/15.
CI, therefore, can be set at a level that covers all reasonable rents.
The inefficient, costly and wasteful bureaucracy that has evolved to maintain the present complicated benefits system can likewise be almost completely dismantled.
Additional monies can be saved by discontinuing tax subsidies that are currently given to businesses and to the wealthy.
Payment of straightforward flat rates of taxation by businesses and by individuals, coupled with savings resulting from the simplification of the benefits system, will yield greatly increased sums available for more pressing social needs. This radical shift in priorities will enable a Progressive administration to give every person in the UK over the age of sixteen an annual Citizens’ Income of £10,000 while all children up to the age of fifteen (or their legal guardians) will receive £5000.
No tax subsidies are proposed by The Progressive European Party in our reform of the taxation system. Instead, all tax will be paid under the streamlined tax mechanisms outlined above. By these means, the payment of CI out of general taxation becomes perfectly feasible.
The high rents charged in today’s economy are a direct result of the acute shortage of housing in the UK. Citizens’ Income, consequently, must be set at a level that is sufficient both to cover accommodation charges and to provide an adequate, if basic, standard of living. It needs, in other words, to be enough for everyone to live on - even when it is their only income.
It is for these reasons that pEp has elaborated a new housing policy to be implemented before CI can be rolled out to all citizens.
Our housing policy is simplicity itself. Local authorities will be allowed to borrow money for the purpose of building new housing. A percentage of these new homes will then be sold to cover the cost of the loans. In this way, approximately 50% of new builds, conversions and refurbishments of existing properties will become available for allocation to all those who are on housing waiting lists. For free.
When I tell people that the Progressive party has a plan to house everyone on the council waiting lists at no cost to the taxpayer, they immediately imagine that I am living in a fantasy world. So I will say it again. We shall be able to house everyone who needs it for free.
It is to be expected that, in some areas, the cost of building new homes will not be fully met by the selling of a percentage of them. Nevertheless, a large proportion of the loan could still be paid off and the local council will simultaneously be gaining an income from the rented properties. In either case, there will be no cost to the taxpayer.
Because we shall be selling homes as well as renting them, this scheme will also provide housing for people who are in a position to buy their own homes. By these means, all housing shortages, both public and private, will be alleviated in a relatively short time span.
When affordable housing reaches a sufficient level it will become possible for CI to be implemented for all citizens.
Will anyone be worse off?
Inevitably some private landlords will have to reduce their rents in order to compete with the new social housing. Property values may initially stagnate or be reduced by the availability of more homes on the market. It should be remembered, however, that the current high rents and the high cost of housing are artificial products of long-standing shortages. They are an artefact of the markets rather than a true reflection of value.
Poverty and homelessness are a disgrace to our society which should never have been allowed to arise in the first place. The Progressive European Party’s housing policy, together with CI, would eradicate these stains from our social fabric for good.
CI itself does have a downside for another group: the money lenders. Under the new universal credit scheme that is currently being rolled out across the country, there can be a two month delay between joining the scheme and receiving the first payment. This long wait imposes an enormous financial strain on claimants who are already living on the poverty line. Payments are then only received monthly, not weekly. Anyone who has had to live on a low income will tell you that they are obliged to budget from one week to another - and not on a monthly basis. Most people run short of money long before the end of the month. Many citizens who are dependant on the current benefits system are forced to use short-term loans just in order to pay their basic bills. CI, on the other hand, could be paid weekly. Since everyone will receive CI from birth, unfair delays would be avoided.
It may well be asked why a rich person, who has no real need for CI, should be paid the same amount as those who are desperate. CI is for all citizens as a share of the prosperity that our country has built up over the generations. Everyone is entitled to it as a right no matter how rich or poor they may be. CI will not be taxed: whereas earnings over and above CI will be subject to taxation.
Another question about CI is: will it make people lazy and less productive? In fact, the opposite has been found to be true wherever it has been tried. Unemployment is reduced, more new business start-ups are made possible and, rather surprisingly, fewer divorces and family break-ups occur.
People who have the security that financial independence confers are more able to live in a dignified and productive way.
We and our forebears work or have worked in the mines, in the steel mills, on the farms, in the factories, as well as in shops and offices. We and our ancestors have all contributed to the enormous wealth that our country has produced over the centuries. It is only right that we should all now share in that prosperity.
The Progressive European Party’s three reforms of Taxation, Housing and Citizens Income, even though they are separate and distinct policies, work together to create a fairer and more inclusive society in which everyone's worth is properly recognised.
The inefficient, costly and wasteful bureaucracy that has evolved to maintain the present complicated benefits system can likewise be almost completely dismantled.
Additional monies can be saved by discontinuing tax subsidies that are currently given to businesses and to the wealthy.
Payment of straightforward flat rates of taxation by businesses and by individuals, coupled with savings resulting from the simplification of the benefits system, will yield greatly increased sums available for more pressing social needs. This radical shift in priorities will enable a Progressive administration to give every person in the UK over the age of sixteen an annual Citizens’ Income of £10,000 while all children up to the age of fifteen (or their legal guardians) will receive £5000.
No tax subsidies are proposed by The Progressive European Party in our reform of the taxation system. Instead, all tax will be paid under the streamlined tax mechanisms outlined above. By these means, the payment of CI out of general taxation becomes perfectly feasible.
The high rents charged in today’s economy are a direct result of the acute shortage of housing in the UK. Citizens’ Income, consequently, must be set at a level that is sufficient both to cover accommodation charges and to provide an adequate, if basic, standard of living. It needs, in other words, to be enough for everyone to live on - even when it is their only income.
It is for these reasons that pEp has elaborated a new housing policy to be implemented before CI can be rolled out to all citizens.
Our housing policy is simplicity itself. Local authorities will be allowed to borrow money for the purpose of building new housing. A percentage of these new homes will then be sold to cover the cost of the loans. In this way, approximately 50% of new builds, conversions and refurbishments of existing properties will become available for allocation to all those who are on housing waiting lists. For free.
When I tell people that the Progressive party has a plan to house everyone on the council waiting lists at no cost to the taxpayer, they immediately imagine that I am living in a fantasy world. So I will say it again. We shall be able to house everyone who needs it for free.
It is to be expected that, in some areas, the cost of building new homes will not be fully met by the selling of a percentage of them. Nevertheless, a large proportion of the loan could still be paid off and the local council will simultaneously be gaining an income from the rented properties. In either case, there will be no cost to the taxpayer.
Because we shall be selling homes as well as renting them, this scheme will also provide housing for people who are in a position to buy their own homes. By these means, all housing shortages, both public and private, will be alleviated in a relatively short time span.
When affordable housing reaches a sufficient level it will become possible for CI to be implemented for all citizens.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Will anyone be worse off?
Inevitably some private landlords will have to reduce their rents in order to compete with the new social housing. Property values may initially stagnate or be reduced by the availability of more homes on the market. It should be remembered, however, that the current high rents and the high cost of housing are artificial products of long-standing shortages. They are an artefact of the markets rather than a true reflection of value.
Poverty and homelessness are a disgrace to our society which should never have been allowed to arise in the first place. The Progressive European Party’s housing policy, together with CI, would eradicate these stains from our social fabric for good.
CI itself does have a downside for another group: the money lenders. Under the new universal credit scheme that is currently being rolled out across the country, there can be a two month delay between joining the scheme and receiving the first payment. This long wait imposes an enormous financial strain on claimants who are already living on the poverty line. Payments are then only received monthly, not weekly. Anyone who has had to live on a low income will tell you that they are obliged to budget from one week to another - and not on a monthly basis. Most people run short of money long before the end of the month. Many citizens who are dependant on the current benefits system are forced to use short-term loans just in order to pay their basic bills. CI, on the other hand, could be paid weekly. Since everyone will receive CI from birth, unfair delays would be avoided.
It may well be asked why a rich person, who has no real need for CI, should be paid the same amount as those who are desperate. CI is for all citizens as a share of the prosperity that our country has built up over the generations. Everyone is entitled to it as a right no matter how rich or poor they may be. CI will not be taxed: whereas earnings over and above CI will be subject to taxation.
Another question about CI is: will it make people lazy and less productive? In fact, the opposite has been found to be true wherever it has been tried. Unemployment is reduced, more new business start-ups are made possible and, rather surprisingly, fewer divorces and family break-ups occur.
People who have the security that financial independence confers are more able to live in a dignified and productive way.
We and our forebears work or have worked in the mines, in the steel mills, on the farms, in the factories, as well as in shops and offices. We and our ancestors have all contributed to the enormous wealth that our country has produced over the centuries. It is only right that we should all now share in that prosperity.
The Progressive European Party’s three reforms of Taxation, Housing and Citizens Income, even though they are separate and distinct policies, work together to create a fairer and more inclusive society in which everyone's worth is properly recognised.
Philip Notley
progressiveeuropeanparty@gmail.com
Additional material
John Coats09 May 2018
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Background on the Bond Market
Interview with Professor Steve Hall, co-author of 'The Death of the Left'. The Crispin Flintoff Show @thecrispinflintoffshow Analy...
-
Progressive European Party After the coalition government, it was reported by Nick Clegg that the Conservatives refused to build more soci...
-
Progressive European Party Citizens Income or CI (sometimes also called a Universal Basic Income or UBI), has been one of the corn...
-
Progressive European Party The EU has immigration guidelines that all members have to adhere to. However in the case of UK and Irela...
